Method for making multi-part frame

ABSTRACT

A method for making a multi-part frame for a device, to render different parts of the frame available for electronic and other functions of the device, includes providing a plurality of conductive frames, and making each of the conductive frames with a predetermined shape. Each sheet of a plurality of conductive sheets can be coupled to a conductive frame. The conductive frames so coupled are placed in an injection mold and a predetermined gap maintained between conductive frames. The gap between conductive frames can be filled with insulating material to form an insulated frame, the insulated frame partially covering the plurality of conductive sheets.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is a divisional application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/567,629, filed on Dec. 11, 2014, which claimspriority to Chinese Application No. 201410565496.7 filed on Oct. 22,2014, the contents of which are entirely incorporated by referenceherein.

FIELD

The subject matter herein generally relates to electrically insulatedstructures.

BACKGROUND

A frame of an electronic device may be utilized by inner circuitry, suchas for an antenna of the electronic device. In order to make the framemeet different needs of the circuit, the frame needs to made ofsegments. Some metal segments are coupled together, and plastic isinjected between the metal segments to create the complete frame.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Implementations of the present technology will now be described, by wayof example only, with reference to the attached figures.

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view of an embodiment of a multi-part frame.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the frame of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the frame of FIG. 1 taken along aline

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the frame of FIG. 1 taken along aline IV-IV.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of a multi-partframe.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of a process for a method for making themulti-part frame.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration,where appropriate, reference numerals have been repeated among thedifferent figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements. Inaddition, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide athorough understanding of the embodiments described herein. However, itwill be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that theembodiments described herein can be practiced without these specificdetails. In other instances, methods, procedures, and components havenot been described in detail so as not to obscure the related relevantfeature being described. Also, the description is not to be consideredas limiting the scope of the embodiments described herein. The drawingsare not necessarily to scale and the proportions of certain parts may beexaggerated to better illustrate details and features of the presentdisclosure.

Several definitions that apply throughout this disclosure will now bepresented.

The term “coupled” is defined as connected, whether directly orindirectly through intervening components, and is not necessarilylimited to physical connections. The connection can be such that theobjects are permanently connected or releasably connected. The term“inside” indicates that at least a portion of a region is partiallycontained within a boundary formed by the object. The term“substantially” is defined to be essentially conforming to theparticular dimension, shape, or other feature that the term modifies,such that the component need not be exact. For example, “substantiallycylindrical” means that the object resembles a cylinder, but can haveone or more deviations from a true cylinder. The term “comprising” whenutilized, means “including, but not necessarily limited to”; itspecifically indicates open-ended inclusion or membership in theso-described combination, group, series, and the like.

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a frame 100 which is configured bothto protect the internal electronic components and to function as part ofan electronic device. The frame 100 can include a first conductive sheet111, a second conductive sheet 121, and a support portion 131. The firstconductive sheet 111 and the second conductive sheet 121 can beelectrically connected to different places of an inside surface of theframe 100, and the support portion 131 can extend from the insidesurface of the frame 100. The first conductive sheet 111 and the secondconductive sheet 121 can be conductive materials and can be coupled tothe inside surface of the frame 100 by soldering. In another embodiment,the first conductive sheet 111 and the second conductive sheet 121 canbe integrated with the inside surface of the frame 100. The firstconductive sheet 111 and the second conductive sheet 121 can beconfigured as an electrical connection between the frame 100 and innercircuitry of the electronic device. The support portion 131 can beconfigured to support internal electronic components.

FIG. 2 illustrates that the frame 100 can include a first conductiveframe 110, a second conductive frame 120, and an insulating frame 130.The first conductive frame 110 and the second conductive frame 120 canbe made of conductive materials and be annular structures. Apredetermined gap can be formed between the first conductive frame 110and the second conductive frame 120. The insulating frame 130 can bemade of insulating materials and be of annular structures. Theinsulating frame 130 can be sandwiched between the first conductiveframe 110 and the second conductive frame 120. The insulating frame 130can be coupled to the first conductive frame 110 and the secondconductive frame 120 throughout the entire annular surface to increasecontact surface area and enhance the strength of the connection.

FIG. 3 illustrates that the first conductive frame 110 can include afirst main body 112 and a first extending portion 113 extending inwardfrom the first main body 112. The first main body 112 and the firstextending portion 113 can form a substantially “L”-shaped semi-closedspace to receive the insulating frame 130. The first extending portion113 can increase the contact area between the insulating frame 130 andthe first conductive frame 110 to enhance the structural strength of theinsulating frame 130 and the first conductive frame 110. The secondconductive frame 120 can include a second main body 122 and a secondextending portion 123 extending inwardly from the second main body 122.The second main body 122 and the second extending portion 123 can form asubstantially “L”-shaped semi-closed space to receive the insulatingframe 130. The second extending portion 123 can increase the contactarea between the insulating frame 130 and the second conductive frame120 to enhance the structural strength of the insulating frame 130 andthe second conductive frame 120. That is, a part of the insulating frame130 can be sandwiched between the first main body 112 of the firstconductive frame 110 and the second main body 122 of the secondconductive frame 120. An extended part of the insulating frame 130 canbe located between the first extending portion 113 of the firstconductive frame 110 and the second extending portion 123 of the secondconductive frame 120. The insulating frame 130 can include a supportportion 131 extending from an inner surface thereof and a through hole132 defined on the support portion 131. The support portion 131 canlocate and support the internal electronic components, and the throughhole 132 can be coupled to a fastener configured to tighten the internalelectronic components.

FIG. 4 illustrates that the first conductive sheet 111 and the secondconductive sheet 121 can be substantially “L”-shaped. One end of thefirst conductive sheet 111 and one end of the second conductive sheet121 can be respectively coupled to different locations of the first mainbody 112 and the second main body 122, and the other end of the firstconductive sheet 111 and of the second conductive sheet 121 can beextended inside the frame 100. In another embodiment, the firstconductive sheet 111 and the second conductive sheet 121 can besubstantially triangular, or rectangular, or other shapes. Theinsulating frame 130 can extend to partially cover the first conductivesheet 111 and the second conductive sheet 121. The insulating frame 130can avoid exposure of the first conductive sheet 111 and the secondconductive sheet 121 inside the frame 100 and can enhance the structuraland connecting strength of the first conductive frame 110 and the secondconductive frame 120.

FIG. 5 illustrates another embodiment of a frame 200. The frame 200 caninclude a first conductive frame 210, a second conductive frame 220, anda third conductive frame 230. The insulating frame 240 can be arrangedbetween the first conductive frame 210, the second conductive frame 220,and the third conductive frame 230. A first conductive sheet 211, asecond conductive sheet 221, and a third conductive sheet 231 can beelectrically connected to different locations of the inside surface ofthe first conductive frame 210, the second conductive frame 220, and thethird conductive frame 230. The insulating frame 240 can extend topartially cover the first conductive sheet 211, the second conductivesheet 221, and the third conductive sheet 231. The first conductiveframe 210 can include a first main body 212 and a first extendingportion 213 extended from the first main body 212. The first extendingportion 213 can increase the contact area between the insulating frame240 and the first conductive frame 210. The second conductive frame 220can include a main body only. In another embodiment, there can be adifferent or any number of the second conductive frames 220. The thirdconductive frame 230 can include a third main body 232 and a thirdextending portion 233 extended from the third main body 232. The thirdextending portion 233 can increase the contact area between theinsulating frame 240 and the third conductive frame 230. The firstextending portion 213 and the third extending portion 233 can bearranged to extend along a same direction. The insulating frame 240 canbe arranged between the first extending portion 213 and the thirdextending portion 233. In another embodiment, the frame 200 can includefour or more conductive frames, and an insulating frame can be arrangedbetween any number of conductive frames.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart in accordance with an example embodiment.The example method is provided by way of example, as there are a varietyof ways to carry out the method. The method described below can becarried out using the configurations illustrated in FIG. 1, for example,and various elements of the figure are referenced in explaining theexample method. Each block shown in FIG. 6 represents one or moreprocesses, methods, or subroutines carried out in the example method.Additionally, the illustrated order of blocks is by example only and theorder of the blocks can change. The example method can begin at block101.

At block 101, a plurality of conductive frames can be provided, and eachconductive frame can be made with a predetermined shape.

The conductive frames can be made, and each conductive frame can includea main body and an extending portion extending from the main body, orjust include a simple main body.

At block 102, a plurality of conductive sheets can be provided, and eachconductive sheet can be coupled to an inside surface of one of theplurality of conductive frames. Each of the plurality of conductivesheets can be electrically connected to different conductive frames.

Conductive sheets can be coupled to different places inside eachconductive frame, thus the frame can electrically connected to theinside circuitry.

At block 103, each conductive frame can be placed in an injection moldand a predetermined gap can be kept between each two conductive frames.

At block 104, the gap between each two conductive frames can be filledwith insulating material to form an insulating frame, and the insulatingframe can partially cover the conductive sheets.

During the forming work, the molten insulating material can be filled inthe gap to form the insulating frame and the insulating frame can extendto partially cover the conductive sheets. The insulating frame can alsoextend to form a support portion in predetermined places. The supportportion can be configured to support the internal electronic components.

The embodiments shown and described above are only examples. Manydetails are often found in the art such as the other features of amethod of manufacturing multi-part frame. Therefore, many such detailsare neither shown nor described. Even though numerous characteristicsand advantages of the present technology have been set forth in theforegoing description, together with details of the structure andfunction of the present disclosure, the disclosure is illustrative only,and changes may be made in the details, including in matters of shape,size, and arrangement of the parts within the principles of the presentdisclosure, up to and including the full extent established by the broadgeneral meaning of the terms used in the claims. It will therefore beappreciated that the embodiments described above may be modified withinthe scope of the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for making a frame, the methodcomprising: providing a plurality of conductive frames, and each of theconductive frames has a predetermined shape; providing a plurality ofconductive sheets, and coupling each of the plurality of conductivesheets to one of the plurality of conductive frames; wherein each of theplurality of conductive sheets is electrically connected to differentconductive frames; placing the plurality of conductive frames in aninjection mold and keeping a predetermined gap between each twoconductive frames of the plurality of conductive frames; and filling agap between each two conductive frames with insulating material to forman insulating frame; wherein the insulating frame partially covers theplurality of conductive sheets.
 2. The method as claimed in claim 1,wherein the insulating frame comprises a support portion extending fromthe insulating frame.
 3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein eachconductive frame comprises a main body and an extending portionextending from the main body.
 4. The method as claimed in claim 1,wherein each conductive sheet electrically connects to an inside surfaceof the main body, and the insulating frame fills in a semi-closed spacesurrounded by the main body and the extending portion.
 5. The method asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the insulating frame comprises a supportportion and a through hole, the support portion extends from theinsulating frame, and the through hole is defined in the supportportion.
 6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein one end of eachconductive sheet electrically connects to an inside surface of eachconductive frame, and the other end of each conductive sheet extendstoward an inner side of the frame.
 7. The method as claimed in claim 1,wherein the frame comprises a first conductive frame, a secondconductive frame, and a third conductive frame; and wherein the secondconductive frame is arranged between the first conductive frame and thethird conductive frame.
 8. The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein thefirst conductive frame comprises a first main body and a first extendingportion extending from the first main body; the third conductive framecomprises a third main body and a third extending portion extending fromthe third main body; and the first extending portion and the thirdextending portion are arranged to extend along a same direction.
 9. Themethod as claimed in claim 8, wherein the frame further comprises afirst conductive sheet electrically connected to the inside surface ofthe first main body, a second conductive sheet electrically connected tothe inside surface of the second conductive frame and a third conductivesheet electrically connected to the inside surface of the thirdextending portion.
 10. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein theinsulating frame extends to partially cover the first conductive sheet,the second conductive sheet, and the third conductive sheet